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The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Dr. Kishore Bisure, former dean of a COVID-19 Jumbo Centre in Mumbai’s Dahisar area, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2023 over alleged irregularities during the pandemic.
Bisure was accused of approving fraudulent attendance records at the Mumbai civic body-run medical facility in exchange for valuable items. He was taken into custody on July 19, 2023, and had remained incarcerated since.
A single-judge bench of Justice Milind N. Jadhav noted that there had been no substantial progress in the trial, with charges yet to be framed. The court also pointed out a prima facie delay in filing the complaint. The prosecution has listed 82 witnesses, making the trial’s early conclusion unlikely. Given these factors, Bisure was granted bail on a surety of ₹1 lakh.
Case Background and ED Investigation
According to the ED, between July 2020 and February 2022, financial irregularities at two COVID-19 centres in Dahisar and Worli, operated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), resulted in a wrongful gain of ₹32.44 crore to Lifeline Hospital Management Services, which had been contracted to provide medical services.
The central agency initiated its probe following an FIR filed by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya in August 2022, alleging financial misconduct in pandemic-related expenditures. However, the ED registered its case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) only in November 2022. The high court acknowledged the apparent delay in the complaint process.
Bisure’s Defense and Court Observations
In his bail plea, Bisure contended that he had served as dean of the Dahisar centre for only five months, from July 9, 2020, to December 27, 2020, and had no involvement in the centre’s operations beyond this period. He further argued that no other deans of similar COVID-19 centres had been arrested and accused the ED of selectively targeting him.
Considering these arguments and the prolonged legal proceedings, the Bombay High Court granted bail, raising concerns about procedural delays in the case.
